Random thoughts on food, cooking, restaurants, food products, food literature and kitchen equipment by Bobby Jay, a retired lawyer living in New York and Paris.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Ottolenghi - An Exciting Cookbook

A friend who is an avid collector (and user) of cookbooks recently recommended Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, and it is indeed an extraordinary book.

The book represents a collaboration between Yotam Ottolenghi, a Jewish man from West Jerusalem, and Sami Tamimi, a Palestinian from East Jerusalem. They have four popular casual restaurants and take-out shops in London, and their little empire is growing.

The book, which seems to be a cult cookbook in England, contains recipes for favorites from the restaurants. The collection is eclectic, with Middle Eastern influences, to be sure, but many other strains of influence as well. The result is an exciting book of recipes that are not like others you have made. I was so taken with the first section, entitled "Vegetables, Pulses and Grains" that I read the book from cover to cover. Among the enticing dishes: french beans and mangetout with hazelnut and orange; bakes artichokes and fava beans; roasted butternut squash with burnt aubergine and pomegranate molasses; fennel, cherry tomato and crumble gratin, Jerusalem artichoke and rocket soup . . . well, you get the picture.

The tempting recipes are lavishly and appetizingly illustrated.

The only problem is that measurements and certain ingredient names (e.g., rocket, aubergines, mangetout, pimentos) are in British, not American, English, but this is not a major problem. I have made only a couple of the recipes, but both were successful.

About This Blog

This blog records my thoughts and experiences relating to cooking, eating, restaurants, food products and ingredients, kitchen equipment and other matters relating to cuisine.
I do not offer reviews of New York restaurants; there are already enough reviewers and points of view. I will, however, discuss things that I discover at restaurants that may be of interest to others. I will offer brief reviews of selected Paris restaurants, as I am often asked for suggestions by people planning trips to that marvelous and beautiful city. In particular, I report from time to time on my ongoing quest for excellent, reasonably-priced restaurants in Paris; fortunately, there are many.